Influencing decision-makers as the next step for entrepreneurship educators: lessons from entrepreneurship education in challenging economies

Abstract

Based on research into the challenging and emerging economies of Peru and Egypt, this study explores how the potential role for entrepreneurship educators is evolving. Interviews and questionnaires with 70 participants from two strands of entrepreneurship, female entrepreneurship in Peru and social entrepreneurship in Egypt, are used to assess entrepreneurship in such challenging economies. Both regions, Latin America and Africa, need successes in entrepreneurship to help establish social, economic and political stability in their nation states. However, the relationship between entrepreneurship and national stability is complex and symbiotic, as national stabilities also help catalyse success in entrepreneurial and enterprise initiatives. The relevance of enterprise and entrepreneurial education and its impact on connected issues such as graduate attributes and employability is complex. This research indicates that, while entrepreneurship education is certainly an asset for individuals in terms of creating new ventures and in enhancing their employability, entrepreneurship educators should also focus on influencing the national decision-makers in challenging and emerging economies. This includes politicians, financiers and other leaders across the public, private and third-sectors of society, as it is often these individuals who create the necessary atmosphere and ethos for entrepreneurial initiatives to flourish

    Similar works